Tampopo

Nice place for quick takeout of Japanese and Korean food. Lots of bentos, small dishes accompanied by rice, etc. Items could have more of the «entrée» and less filler rice, especially since I wouldn’t consider the price «cheap takeout». So good for quality, but pricier takeout. I think their Japanese curries are my favorite items.

Good solid Korean– and Japanese-​inspired comfort food including bi bim bap bowls, udon noodle bowls, meat over rice dishes, bento boxes, and more. The chicken katsu (basically fried chicken) curry bowl is a pleasurable entry into spicy waters. For something a little more divine, go with the shrimp katsu curry bowl. Udon noodles are $ 1 extra in bowls (that’s what this one woman charged me). The bi bim bap bowls offer the most variety. You get a nice mix of veggies, meat, optional fried egg on top of rice. The fresh tuna bi bim bap has a more delicate approach to bi bim bap, including salad, avocado, sliced pears, cucumbers, and a nice helping of raw tuna. Yum!!! There’s also a salmon version of the same bowl. Perhaps the only complaints are the meat over rice bowls are good, but missing a veggie component and the prices are a little higher than they should be. There was a time not long ago that I would go here religiously, almost five days a week. There are just so many other options nearby nowadays that it makes it impossible to stay with a favorite takeout place.

The name initally grossed me out lol. I blame that on my own immaturity
I decided on being a frequent visitor of this reaturant within the first 1 minute of getting my meal. The food was so good and the group of staff was so patient with my stupid questions, and had great advice.
I had the Chicken Yakisoba. So good. Its basically a Japanese rendition of a Chinese Chicken Lo Mein.
Excited to try new dishes on the menu.
Update: Be careful leaving the area as the TAMN POPO are parallell parked everywhere around the area. I mean all over this joint. I was afraid to put my hands in my pockets.
Not today, officer.

Solid place to grab a quick bento or bibimbap (definitely WITH the egg. seriously, who gets anything without the egg!!!). Food is nothing mind-​blowingly-​special, but generally consistently good, and hits the spot (usually) when I’m craving some simple asian food (and don’t feel like making it myself).
Food can sometimes take awhile to come out, so be patient!
Overall, a solid place that we frequent quite a bit!

Great little neighborhood place for take-​out or stopping by for a casual bite to eat.
All the soups are delicious; my favorite, though is the Udon Noodle Soup. Good pick me up on a fall/​winter day.
The Bento Boxes are also portioned well and pretty good.
Wish their hours weren’t so limited (which accounts for the 4 stars).

We always pass by Tampopo during our grocery trips to Trader Joe’s and the name always stood out to me. I got the case of the sniffles/​chills this weekend and was craving a cheap, clean, semi-​spicy rice dish. Tampopo came to mind and they totally delivered! Well, actually, my partner picked up the food, but really, it was amazing.
I got the chicken bibimbap and finished it all in one sitting. The vegetables were fresh and delicious. The chicken was juicy and perfectly cooked. The sauce was 40% spicy, 60% tangy aka flawless. I was reenergized after finishing my bowl and felt like I could run a 5k afterwards (obvi didn’t, but you get the point). My partner got the chicken kimchi rice bowl and it was alright — definitely sticking with the bibimbap though. It was under $ 20 for both of us so it’s perfect for those who want to impress their Netflix and chill date or simply upgrade your take-​out choices.

Came by for lunch today and ordered the spicy pork bento box. The place is pretty small so would recommend getting there before noon to avoid the rush.
The service was really fast and got our food really quickly. The bento box was good — edamame was well seasoned, steamed broccoli, rice and then the pork. Really good flavors with the pork. Would’ve liked to have some more seasoning on the broccoli.
Would come back again although you might smell like their kitchen if you decide to eat there!

I chanced upon this place one day when I was looking for a quick meal to take home after an event, and I felt like I hit the jackpot. If you’re looking for simple, quick, delicious, fun variations of some staple Korean and Japanese foods, don’t miss this little hole in a wall!
Favorite thing to order here: hot spicy beef or chicken bowl, which includes stir fried kimchi over rice (if you’re into whole grains, the brown rice option here is tender and delicious!) and perfectly satisfies my taste for spicy/​savory korean flavors.

I was looking for something different. I wanted my taste buds to go on a wild expedition. Philly literally has everything & anything as far as culinary deliciousness. But how do I begin my food journey? I turn to my Unilocal community & you all did NOT disappoint. Thank you my friends, thank you.
I decided to get take out from Tampopo (Friday, August 14, 2015) it’s really easy to get there; I found parking right out front. It was a beautiful day & a lot of customers at other establishments were eating outside. There were two diners sitting in high tables in Tampopo (they sat so they were looking directly outside) they looked like they were on display!
The restaurant is pretty small. I came around noon & there was about 10 other patrons and we were pretty cramped. I doubt that I’d sit there to eat; definitely seems like more of a take out place.
I walked to the front & was pleasantly surprised. They had a menu available to you as well as pictures of what’s all in the bibimbap. It took the guess work out of a first timer like me; thank you Tampopo! What a nice touch! Their menu has a lot of tasty sounding options. However, I was being on the safe side and ordered two chicken + one chicken with egg bibimbap. I also decided to grab an order of 8 pieces dumplings. The wait wasn’t long AT ALL. I would guess probably less than 10 minutes. They called my name from the pick up counter and away I went.
I’m so glad that I chose to come here. The food was incredible. I used an entire container of the spicy/​tangy sauce they provided & I also used some soy sauce. It was exactly what I was searching for. My taste buds were quite impressed by the different (but yummy) textures & spices. I really enjoyed the presentation as well. I felt good eating it; nothing was deep fried and/​or processed. Fresh veggies were flavorful & the entire bowl was just really fantastically executed.
I would most definitely recommend Tampopo. Everyone should come out to this fabulous restaurant that’s super affordable! I can’t wait to come back & work my way through the menu. I’ll definitely be more daring with my future decisions now that I know how amazing Tampopo really is!

What a great surprise to find a cute, clean and delicious Korean byob nearby! Service is quick and food is delicious. I ordered the salmon Bibimbop with a side of Gochujang. I inhaled it!!! Prices are very reasonable too.

I wanted a quick and cheap meal after a long day of traveling. Tasting something exotic and a little spicy, I knew that there was one place that could deliver on all of these whims: Tampopo.
The inside of the restaurant is not particularly glamorous, but then again, it isn’t trying to be. For a restaurant like this, the only thing it needs to look like is clean, which Tampopo did deliver.
I ordered the Tofu Kimchi Bowl with steamed broccoli on top; many of the previous reviews raved about the Spicy Tofu Bowl, so I knew this was something I had to try.
Tofu Kimchi Bowl– the first thing I noticed was the portioning of the dish; it had a perfect ratio of rice to kimchi/​tofu. Typically I find myself wishing for more of one or the other, but the balance was perfect. The sauce was also excellent with a great amount of heat (I believe it was a Sriracha base with added red pepper flakes, so it definitely had some spice, but nothing too overwhelming). Also, I really enjoyed the Kimchi portion of the dish too. The cabbage was well cooked and went nicely with the sauce. However, the tofu itself was a bit cold and absorbed very little of the sauce. I was a bit disappointed with this as it was supposed to be the highlight of the dish, but it did not destroy the dish by any means.
Overall, I think Tampopo delivers on its intent quite well: serve a quick, cheap, Korean/​Japanese style meal. I will most likely come back again as I am eager to see how their bento boxes compare with my experience in Japan!
Thanks for the good meal, Tampopo!

Tampopo is basically a cleaner /​simpler version of many different types of Asian food — and it serves them quickly at a above average quality at a good price. It’s definitely a place I get a craving for whether for their Bimbimbap or Chicken Katsu Curry.
My biggest complaint is their hours since they have a gap between lunch & dinner service that is exactly when I like to pick-​up food, but otherwise their service and food quality is all great. I highly recommend it.

It’s more like a takeout restaurant. We ordered at the counter, then we picked them up when they were ready… Not really has service there.
But the food is good. Chicken bibimbap with fried egg is really delicious! Love the Korean chili source! And it’s a good portion! I was stuffed after eating it up!

Stumbled upon this place with my parents one day because it’s close to home. Being that I’m Korean and there are literally no good/​authentic Korean restaurants in the city, I thought I would give this place a shot. I ordered the bibimbap, my mom got the udon, and my dad ordered the curry. Everything was yummy but not super authentic in my opinion. The rice isn’t as sticky as what I’m used to, and the sauce for the bibimbap is more oily versus pasty, and not nearly spicy enough. My mom thought the udon was overly sweet (but I suppose that’s how the Japanese eat it). Still, this place is cheap and good enough to satisfy my korean food craving here and there!

I heard about Tampopo from a lot of different people, and when I finally ventured over, I hadn’t realized that I’d eaten here two years ago so I was excited to try it again.
It’s a small space, but I definitely recommend it, whether you are dining in alone or with a friend, or grabbing something to-​go. I don’t recommend coming here with a large group, as it is a tight fit. If you are grabbing lunch during the week, I would order in advance, as they get pretty busy!
I LOVE their chicken Bibimbap. It’s a personal fave dish of mine in general, and this place does it just right. I also appreciate their price point. Depending on how hungry you are you could eat this in one sitting, or manage to split it up and save some for later.
I highly recommend that you DO NOT get their fresh salmon bibimbap… When I ordered it I was expecting the usual, but with salmon instead of chicken — WRONG ASSUMPTION. Instead of the fresh veggies and rice, this compilation is cabbage, sprouts, and other things with a dressing that I could have done without. The salmon itself is delicious, I think they should upgrade that dish otherwise!
I also really enjoyed their chicken teriyaki bentobox. Simple, with the perfect amount of food. They chicken teriyaki is REALLY good.

I had been meaning to get to Tampopo for a bit now. I love bibimbap. I was happy to see the lunch rush hadn’t left me without a place to sit so I snagged a table for a friend and I and ordered the spicy chicken bibimbap bowl with white rice and egg. It was pretty good but nothing over the moon. I may be spoiled because I traditionally order my bibimbap in a stone pot so that the rice gets crispy and you’re welcomed by a flavor bomb that will knock your socks off… here the bibimbap was served in a plastic bowl and I used the entire side of sriracha to get my taste buds kickin. Either way it was a nice lunch and I’d be back but probably to try other menu items.

If this review was for the spicy tofu alone, it would be 5 stars. That is some delicious tofu. Perfect texture, nicely spicy, great flavor — try it once and you will be hooked.
But let me talk now about Tampopo itself. It’s one of my go-​tos for a fast, cheap, delicious meal. It’s a great value: cheap but still high quality, and a place you could go with friends or even on a date. Plus it’s a BYO — win! All the food is pretty good and the atmosphere is fun, casual, and a little hipster.
The food at Tampopo is tasty, but I don’t think it’s very authentic, particularly the bibimbop. It has all the ingredients of bibimpop, but it’s not really bibimbop: it doesn’t have the amazing, crispy rice that you get from using a stone bowl. It’s good for what it is: a regular rice bowl with nice fresh veggies, flavorful meat/​tofu, and a fried egg. The sauce it comes with is great!
I do have one pretty petty issue with Tampopo; a struggle that I’ve been fighting and losing for years. And this is: I want my rice bowl with their spicy tofu of the gods, but I ALSO want it with the large variety of veggies that come in a regular tofu rice bowl. I’ve tried and tried but I can’t make this happen. For some reason, the only vegetable they can add in a spicy tofu bowl is broccoli. They can make a veggie rice bowl. They can make a veggie tofu rice bowl. They can make a spicy tofu rice bowl. But they CANNOT make a veggie spicy tofu bowl. What kind of madness is this?
Fortunately I’ve found a workaround. Now when I get tampopo with my boyfriend, he orders a bibimpop, I order spicy tofu with broccoli, and we trade vegetables so we each get a mix. Sometimes you gotta get creative. You’re welcome, everyone.
Grudges aside, Tampopo is one of my favorites!

After hearing about how delicious Tampopo is for years, I finally had the opportunity to give it a try last Friday for lunch. It was even better than I was expecting!
We arrived around 11:30 and we were the only people there. It is a tiny, intimate restaurant with about 8 small tables. You order/​pay at the counter and the kitchen is an open view.
I ordered the Bibimbob (Traditional Korean rice bowl with vegetable mix and spicy bibimbob sauce). I added chicken; and my lunch date added chicken and a fried egg. All of the veggies were cooked to the perfect tenderness, and the chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The sauce was spicy but not unbearable. I was able to use the entire cup of sauce and thoroughly mixed it into my bowl of heaven.
We ate there since it was quiet, but noticed a lot of people getting take out. By the time we left around noon, the line was out the door! I’m glad we beat the crowd but I would wait in a long line for this deliciousness any day of the week!

I had the spicy chicken bento with gyoza, and it was alright. The speed of the order was impressive and the service was nice. The bento box comes with your choice of meat, white or brown rice, edamame and a side (I chose the dumpling). My edamame were a little too salty but that may just be my taste buds. Overall it was pretty tasty but I don’t think it was worth $ 10.

Okay I realize I keep waffling on the rating for this place but I’m going to update to 5 stars just for their bibimbap. I just had it again after a while but I think this is my favorite rice dish ever. It comes covered in veggies (squash, carrots, sprouts, spinach) and you can get a protein and a fried egg with it. The fried egg is cooked just right with the white crispy but the yolk still runny. I also love you can get brown rice cooked just right as well. I like this place 10x more than Giwa; better tasting food and better value too. Get the bibimbap!

I had the spicy chicken and rice bowl for lunch one day. There was so much food, I had that for dinner too! The food was delicious. Wish that bowl meal also included some veggies though. The prices were great for the food and the staff was the best. My friend and I sat in for lunch and didn’t realize they closed the store to prepare for dinner but they were so polite and sweet, they never rushed us or kicked us out. They continued working and let us chat till we noticed the lights were off, the doors locked and the place was empty!